Mark In History
by JAE NI
Summary: They gaze at their legacy. (Maiko Fluff Week 2019, day 3: Future)


**A\N: Another old draft. It seems that I have a very strong habit of collecting WIPs. **

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Zuko's 15th birthday was during his banishment.

There was no party, no feast, and no celebration. Actually, his uncle wanted to hold a small festive dinner and hire a music band, but he stopped all the old man's plans. After more than three years away from home, he didn't care about birthdays, he couldn't stand celebratory meals. His entire focus was on finding the Avatar.

(Still, he felt warm on the inside when he found a note from Iroh in his room, and he cried silently before falling asleep).

Azula's 15th birthday, however, was a spectacle to behold. Especially considering his sister's taste for grandiosity. A showcase of opulence, he heard, and now he wonders if that showcase of splendor was a sign of how empty she was inside. Mai told him a few bits of it, of the proud speech his father made in the grand opening and of the carriage that paraded the princess around the capital, as well as how the crowd would throw flowers in the path of the entourage, marvel at the fireworks spectacle and nibble at the free delicacies of the nobility, rejoicing with the benevolence of the royal family and vibrating along three full days. In retrospect, Zuko is almost sure that Ozai was most likely preparing her to succeed him already, gaining the people's favor for his new heir.

But all of that happened a long time ago, and Zuko brushes all of his bad memories away the second his daughter steps in.

She's turning fifteen today, and yet it feels like he first held in his arms just yesterday. She's turning fifteen and she looks gorgeous in her festive clothes, with her red robes seeming to be even more radiant today, and despite hiding the smile, her face is absolutely radiant.

Izumi only takes a few steps to get closer to her parents, but Zuko can't help but admire her majestic strides and how she exudes a confident and captivating aura, so he sighs adoringly, pride blossoming in his chest, his eyes refusing to focus on anything else.

He opens his mouth to congratulate her once again, but he's speechless and his mouth hangs open. He can't think of anything to say, even though he was practicing his speech with his wife just a few seconds ago.

His daughter giggles at this reaction, finding funny that such an eloquent Firelord can lose his composure like that.

"Yes, Zuko." Standing at his side, Mai voices his thoughts out loud impatiently, as everyone can see his heart stamped on his face, and rolls her eyes, "She's beautiful and all grown up now. We're all aware. Now stop marveling at that, you're making me feel old."

"I can't help it," he doesn't stop smiling, despite his wife's reprimand, "She's so big! And so pretty!"

"Just like she was this morning…"

"Mom. Dad," the teenager finally the teenager finally speaks, and despite using an annoyed tone, she smiles as well, "Enough, please!"

"Forgive your father, Izumi," Mai sides with the girl, and Zuko feels betrayed for a moment, "He just can't believe he has such an incredible daughter."

Then it's the girl's turn to roll her eyes at her dad's silly antics, before she excuses herself to greet the guests at her banquet.

When Zuko was fifteen, he never thought this day would come. By then he was too engrossed in his quest to search for the Avatar, and the two years of no results and no leads were making him grow impatient. The long tedious wait left him enraged and irritable, to the point that any sort of positive thoughts, such as getting married and having a child, had rarely been on his mind. At that age, Zuko could never imagine that one day he would be filled with joy because his daughter, the pride of his life, had just made her first official public appearance on her fifteenth birthday.

The tears are not noticed by the people present, as they stand a bit distant from the crowd. And for the first time that's not because of Mai's aversion to interactions with people, but because they want their Princess to be the center of all attention today. The hall is full of people on the lower floor in utter silence and they are still upstairs in complete bliss, watching Izumi prepare herself for the opening speech.

The proud parents observe as she thanks for their presence and for their best wishes on her birthday, and speaks of her duty and love for the Fire Nation. The words come from her heart, as she had spent the past week revising and practicing it until she was satisfied, even though Zuko had told her it was perfect from the very first time.

"She really is incredible." He mutters when the girl is done and the hall is filled with thunderous applause.

"Of course she is," Mai's reply is not sarcastic this time, as she smiles just as adoringly as him, her eyes shining and never once moving away from her little girl, "She's our daughter after all."

"Yes," he nods faintly, still marveling at the way she walks when she climbs down the remaining steps to the lower floor and personally talk to the guests, "And we did a good job with this one."

"What else did you expect? And to think you were panicking when I got pregnant..."

Mai smirks and he sighs internally, knowing she would always use that anecdote to mock him whenever the opportunity presented itself.

However, this time he can't feel the usual embarrassment that always comes with her reminder. Now he's totally resolved to focus only on the good and happy memories, leaving the bitter ones for the bitter days. So when Mai recounts that story he can only remember just how important she had been for him in these past few years, and how much her support was important when it was time to raise a child.

"Thank you, Mai. You know I couldn't do it without you."

"Didn't I say it, already? Stop thanking me for that," she scolds him good-humoredly, her voice in a rare soft tone, "Izumi is our daughter. She wouldn't be who she is today if the two of us weren't there together."

"I can't help but feel thankful." His hand moves to her waist as hugs her discreetly, "Thank you. For everything, not just her. For all that's still to come."

The solemn words take her by surprise. She turns her face to look at him, and that's when she realizes he was already gazing at her. His eyes are still shining from when Izumi stepped out in her festive clothes, but now they have more depth in them.

Zuko rarely says such things to her, but whenever he does it's always with solemnity and from the bottom of his heart.

And whenever he does, Mai just can't help the teasing.

"You're mushy today aren't you?"

"I'm just so happy!" Zuko doesn't mind it. He is mushy - more than he ever was; more than he ever thought he could be - and he knows that it's best to admit it at once rather than trying to deny it. He is so mushy that he can't even pretend he isn't.

And there really aren't greater things than being mushy over his daughter on her special day. So he's fine with that.

"You know; she'll be a great Firelord one day. Better than me."

"We're at the beginning of a new era. The next generation is our renovation, and they will soon surpass us," Mai nods, also thinking about the bright future that would soon come, "But they are our legacy as well."

"Sure, sure. And I'm certain that, rather than all of my achievements and accomplishments, I'll be proud of her the most. And history will remember us as the Firelord Izumi's parents."

Beside him, Mai snorts, the festive mood helping her relax enough to crack a joke.

"Speak for yourself." She nudges him slightly, and imperceptibly to the crowd, a move she mastered right after they got married, "I'll be forever known as that gloomy girl who sighs a lot."


End file.
